There’s always room for improvement, right? And who better to make those improvements than FE&S’ 2018 Future Foodservice Leaders. Here, a few fill us in on how they would like to see the industry improve.

Less Pressure on People

“We’re a 24/7 industry and we put a lot of pressure on our people to always be available. We all work far more Angela S. Petittithan 40 hours a week. We try and be generous with time off and considerate of family time, but we have to have someone on call. I try to be conscious of hunting season for the person who likes to hunt and keep someone else’s band schedule at hand — my technicians know what’s expected of them, they put their time in and then someone else takes the ball for a while so they can relax. I don’t ever want to see someone get burned out. I’m always thinking about that.”

— Angela S. Petitti, vice president, Gary's East Coast Service

Collaboration

Brett Daniel“We would all collaborate more.”

— Brett Daniel, Camacho Associates

More Collaboration

Christina Collins“From a dealer’s standpoint, I’d love to see renewed collaboration in building improvements to industry technology systems and tools. If we keep both the voice of the manufacturers and the voice of the dealers incorporated, we can find solutions that lead to even better customer results, and more profit for all of us.

— Christina Collins, Burkett Restaurant Equipment & Supplies

Even More Collaboration

Jill Horst“It’s about making sure all the players continue to collaborate as we try and move forward as an industry. Sustainability, for example, is important on our campus. What are we doing as an industry to help the planet?

Also, as new equipment and products are being designed, how can that help with the labor impact? Cooking from scratch is really important, but is there one step that can be removed from my team’s worklist?”

— Jill Horst, University of California, Santa Barbara

Healthy Food’s Perception

Emily Wunder“There is a common misconception I hear often that healthy food does not taste good. When people give new, healthy dishes a chance, they are often pleasantly surprised with the taste. I am not saying all healthy food is delicious, but the idea that it is all awful is far from true!”

— Emily Wunder, MSCN, RD, LDN, regional wellness director, Eurest

Standardizing

Nick Crib“Standardized warranty practices.”

— Nick Cribb, SAM Service Inc.

Relationships

Gary Thiakos“We all know how the industry has evolved with the internet, competition, Millennials. At the end of the day, the industry is still the greatest because of the people in it, and how relationship-driven it is. While many think relationships are becoming less important, I disagree. If we want the customer to see our value to them, it is up to us to know that value and show that to them.

— Gary Thiakos, Zepole Supply Co.

Pride

Joseph Schumaker“Encourage people to look at the food industry as a career to be proud of. We aren’t the help. Hospitality isn’t a fallback position. The ratio of young and energetic people growing up and saying ‘Wow, I really want to be in the food/hospitality industry’ needs to come in line with the other industries this size.

— Joseph Schumaker, foodspace+co

Employee Appreciation

Leisa Bryant“If I could improve one thing in the industry, it would be that our foodservice team members be respected and appreciated more for the value they bring to the industry. Our team of porters, dishwashers, cashiers, cooks and foodservice workers are the backbone of the industry. Yet, they remain underappreciated, undervalued, undersupported, and in some circumstances, underpaid.

As a foodservice leader, I am committed to making a difference by bringing the value of my team to the discussion every time.”

Online Reality

Mitch Marcotte“As Millennials get older and gain more buying power, the percentage of sales online will increase. The factories need to properly plan for that reality. They should be more focused on who is educating the customer and where their product ends up, and less on the address of the PO. It’s ironic that while I answer this question it happens to be Cyber Monday. According to the news outlets this morning “since black Friday through today, online sales are up 18% over last year…” We need to evolve.

— Mitch Marcotte,GMV Sales Associates

College and University

Peter Testory“If I could improve one thing about this industry, it would be to make sure everyone out there knew what a great job we do in [college and university] foodservice. Across the board in this industry, we are doing great things, and making a significant impact on the foodservice industry as a whole. We have schools in this industry that are setting trends and breaking new ground that is setting the future of this industry. Any chance I get to talk to young hospitality or culinary students I talk about this sector of the foodservice industry. Surprisingly very, few truly know that this path exists, or how rewarding these jobs can be.”